Gao Lingwen (1862–1945) was a famous scholar and writer from the city of

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

(Tientsin), China. He was the founder and principal of the first modern high school of Tianjin, the ''Bell Tower Middle School'' (铃铛阁中学), and the elder brother of China's acting President

Gao Lingwei Gao Lingwei (; Hepburn: Kō Ryōi); (1870–1940) was a Chinese politician during the late Qing dynasty and the early Republic of China. A Tianjin native, he was appointed to Hubei where he held many offices relating to finance and education i ...

, of the

Beiyang Government The Beiyang government (), officially the Republic of China (), sometimes spelled Peiyang Government, refers to the government of the Republic of China which sat in its capital Peking ( Beijing) between 1912 and 1928. It was internationally ...

. After the fall of Tianjin in 1900, Gao decided to create middle schools in Tianjin, to enlighten the general population and save them from the demise of ignorance. In 1901, he opened a private school at the Northwest Corner (西北角) of Tianjin, named the ''General School'' (普通学堂). He hired both Chinese and English-speaking teachers, and the school received about 100 students. In 1902, the ''General School'' was declared Tianjin's first public school, and changed its name to the ''Bell Tower Middle School''. Afterwards, he also opened five elementary schools, and three lecturing houses. In 1906, rewarding him for his enormous efforts in his educational career, he was promoted to be the general manager of the Department of Education. During 1915 to 1922, Gao was devoted to the documentation of Tianjin's history, writing ''The New Record of Tianjin County'' (天津县新志).

References

A Short Biography of Gao Lingwen
(in simplified Chinese) {{authority control Chinese scholars Educators from Tianjin 1945 deaths 1862 births Republic of China historians Historians from Tianjin